Judge to arsonist: 'World's full of jerks, but you can't go around trying to kill them'

Around 3 a.m. on a February morning, after a night of drinking, a Rosemont woman stopped at a gas station, where, authorities said, she not only filled up her tank, but soaked a rag with gasoline.

She then drove to the Woodridge apartment of an ex-boyfriend and lit the cloth on fire outside his front door.

Neighbors discovered the blaze and alerted firefighters before the flames could spread far or cause injury.

But Maria D. Bustamante’s actions created the potential for tragedy, said the DuPage County judge who Wednesday sentenced her to a 4-year prison sentence.

After hearing arguments that the former boyfriend had abused Bustamante and thrown her belongings in a dumpster after evicting her, Judge John Kinsella said he understood her anger, but only to a point.

“The world’s full of jerks, but you can’t go around trying to kill them,” Kinsella said.

Bustamante, 30, had pleaded guilty last month to arson for the Feb. 20 fire at the apartment building in the 7300 block of Woodward Avenue.

Her former boyfriend, who wasn’t home at the time of the fire, told investigators that he suspected Bustamante.

She later confessed to setting the fire, which caused about $20,000 in damage, prosecutors said.

“I never thought about killing anybody – I just wanted to scare him,” Bustamante told the judge.

She had been in jail since February and faced up to 15 years in prison, though probation was also an option.

Her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Kimberly Gonzalez, asked for probation based on Bustamante’s lack of criminal record and an abusive childhood.

Bustamante, who worked at a fast food restaurant, needs counseling, her attorney said.

But Kinsella noted that federal immigration authorities had placed a hold on Bustamante, and, if she were to receive probation, she would likely be deported to her native Mexico before she could benefit from any services.

In any event, Kinsella said, her actions were foolish and reckless enough to merit a prison sentence.

“You did a stupid, dangerous thing,” Kinsella told Bustamante before urging her to accept her punishment and to try to reunite with a daughter Bustamante has in Mexico.